


Public Speaking

by Trashbaggbabbie



Series: Loser Loves [3]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie centric, F/M, I love him, M/M, Multi, my baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 10:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14447799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashbaggbabbie/pseuds/Trashbaggbabbie
Summary: Eddie gives a speech.





	Public Speaking

**Author's Note:**

> Why not write this?

“Settle down everyone! The next speaker is ready to go.” The man hands off the microphone to Eddie, who sighs shakily as he looks out at the crowd. He could do this. He isn’t afraid anymore. He brings the microphone up to his mouth.

“Um...Hello,” he gets a few “hello’s” back which makes him smile, “I’m Eddie Kaspbrak and...I’m gay in a poly relationship.” People in the crowd cheer, some louder than others. It helps Eddie relax a little. He takes a shaky breath and smiles weakly into the crowd, starting to speak again.

“From when I was born to when I was five, my life was great. I could play around with the other kids, even get dirty if I wanted to. But then...” a shaky breath, “my father died of cancer. I never knew he had it and I guess my mother didn’t either. He hid it from us. It seemed to affect her the most.”

Eddie closes his eyes, feeling like he was back with his mother. How unbearable it was, how he wished daily for the pills to just be a little too much and kill him. It’s a little silent, a few people murmuring in the crowd.

“After my father’s Death, she made me believe that I was sick. Day after day, I would take pills or be in the hospital. I could no longer play rough with the other boys. I was too fragile, my mother would say.” Eddie sighs shakily and wipes his eyes. “I would be in the hospital for so much as a clear of my throat. I would have pills being forced down my throat daily, and I just took it. Because she said she was just trying to help me.”

Eddie feels tears coming to his eyes and he sniffles.

“She just had this _voice_ that she used to manipulate me. And I believed it because I felt guilty. I took the pills. I went to the doctors. I believed that being gay was a sin and I was a dirty boy.” Eddie wipes at his eyes and smiles softly.

“But then I met them...” Eddie opens his eyes and notices smiling faces back at him. “My soulmates. Six of them. One’s a girl, surprisingly, but I can only love her and my five other boys.” There’s a few cheers and Eddie smiles, looking down at his feet.

“They all changed my life. I was eleven when we all met and became the losers, as every bully in school would call us.” He chuckles and a few laughs follow. “Let me tell you a little about each of them.”

Eddie starts to think and smiles.

“Let’s start with Bill; the leader of the losers. Bill...was my first best friend. When something would happen, he would understand that it wasn’t my fault if we couldn’t hang out. He told me many times that I deserved better, but I loved my mother and kept doing everything she said.” Eddie pauses. “Stanley was someone I met through Bill, the two met at some park that Stan was birdwatching at with his dad. Stan is clean, like me, and quiet. But he can be snarky, especially at Richie...” Eddie laughs. “Richie is fucking crazy, let me tell you. He flirts through jokes. He especially loved the “your mom” ones. First time we ever met Ben, he made a joke about meeting Ben before he died.”

Eddie goes silent for a second.

“We met Ben through one of the bullies with his stomach cut,” a few gasps are let out, “he still has the scar and is insecure about it, but we fucking love him so much.” Eddie’s voice gets thick with tears, thinking of how many times he admired Ben.

“Beverly, my Bev, we met her through Ben. He comes down to the Barrens one day and there’s this girl. We all talk about going swimming in the quarry so we head there. That was the first girl I ever saw in swim wear and all I could think was “she’s so beautiful.”

Eddie smiles. “The Barrens led us all to Mike, who was getting beat and chased by the bullies I talked about earlier; same ones that hurt Ben. We fought them off with a literally rock fight.”

Eddie closes his eyes, thinking of what to say next. He hesitates before speaking.

“The bullies were the first people to make me feel physical pain. They broke my arm, so I did what I could only think in that moment. I _laughed_. I fucking laughed because that was the first time I’ve ever felt pain.” He laughs through a few tears.

“In the hospital, I made my mother terrified as she tried to keep my friends away from me. I was not giving them up just because of her.” Eddie lets out a slight sob at the remembrance. “I stood up to her. I told her I wasn’t sick, I was going to see my friends, and there was nothing she can do to stop me.”

Eddie grits his teeth, wiping his eyes. “She knew then, that I wasn’t her little slave anymore. That she couldn’t manipulate me anymore.”

Eddie opens his eyes and looks out at the crowd, smiling.

“And now I’m here speaking about my story to all of you. I got away from my mother after high school and went to college at NYU with my Lovers. Sadly, my mom died a few years ago and she never got to see me become successful and get over her. I just wish she would’ve accepted me.” Eddie smiles. “That’s all I have to my story. I hope you all are proud of who you are, because damn it, it feels fucking great.”

The crowd cheers and Eddie smiles, handing the microphone over before walking off stage. He’s immediately dragged into a pair of arms and then all of a sudden, all of his lovers are surrounding him.

“We’re so proud of you, Eddie. For speaking out about this. I know it was hard.” Beverly says sweetly, kissing his cheek. He smiles and looks between his lovers.

“It’s all worth it as long as you guys go along with me.” Eddie smiles, squirming a little in the middle of the hug he’s trapped in. “Let me out. I’m about to sweat even more in this heat.”

They all back up from him and notice his grin. “Last one to the ice cream cart is a little bitch!”

They all take off running with Eddie in the lead and he scream laughs as he’s picked up by strong arms which he knows is Mike and his legs are held with Richie’s hands. He’s tickled by Bev and Bill.

“Stanley! Ben! Help!” Ben shakes his head with a fond smile and Eddie hears Stan start to order his dessert. Soon, the tickling stops and Eddie takes a breather as he eats his ice cream silently. He thinks over everything that happened and is interrupted by a girl walking up to him.

“Hello.” She says shyly. “I’m Roman. I just wanted you to know, your story is really inspiring. I also just got away from a manipulative parent. Knowing that you got over it and became happy makes me believe that I can. So thank you.”

Eddie smiles and stands up, giving her a hug. “It will get better.” He whispers to her. “Don’t give up.”

A year later, Eddie goes back to the event to speak again to new people in a crowd. And isn’t very surprised to see Roman as another speaker. He’s perched up on Richie’s lap in a chair as the rest of them sit on the blanket they have on the ground.

“One special person told me not to give up..” Roman looks straight at him. “And like him, I never will.” Eddie claps at the end of her speech and smiles, realizing how great his life is. He turns in Richie’s lap and kisses him softly. As he pulls back, Richie chuckles.

“Feeling some type of way, Spaghetti?” Richie asks, a grin on his face as he squeezes Eddie’s waist softly. Eddie just smiles.

“Just feeling some love.” The rest of the day goes by and Eddie sits in bed with his lovers cuddled up on the bed. He’s half asleep and shoots up as he hears a thump behind him.

“Fucking damn it.” He turns his head and sees Bill is missing from his spot behind Stanley. Richie looks behind him to Stanley and they both crack up laughing, making the rest of the losers laugh. Stanley helps Bill back up on the bed and they move so they all fit. They fit perfectly on each other and one by one, they fall asleep. Yeah, Eddie feels all the love.


End file.
